Wild Birds

Black-breasted Buzzards

The Black-breasted Buzzards (Hamirostra melanosternon) – also known as Black-breasted Kite – is a large bird of prey.

Description

It has a wingspan that ranges between 440 and 500 millimeters, with females being larger than males.

The adult plumage is mostly dark with distinctive white patches on the wings at the bases of the primary feathers.pic genus Hamirostra.

Range

The Black-breasted Buzzard occurs naturally in Australia, where it is mostly found in the northern and central parts of the continent. They inhabit deserts, dry grasslands, shrublands, sparse tropical woodlands, and tree-lined watercourses. It is not found in Tasmania.

Diet / Feeding

Black-breasted buzzards feed on rabbits, large lizards, other birds, and carrion. It will also raid the nests of ground-nesting birds, breaking large eggs by hurling stones against them with its large beak and then eating the contents. (see photo below).

Nesting

They nest in trees, often along watercourses, building a platform of sticks with a central leaf-lined depression for the clutch of usually two eggs.

The incubation period is about 40 days. The young fledge when they are about 60 days old.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also
Close
Back to top button